Good evening and welcome back to the blog…Happy New Year and all that guff. Resolutions…I’ve made one for sure which is somewhat inspired by writing this blog daily for the last 18 months and more by the music of The Clash – and music in general. In 2011 I promise to see more live music….I don’t care about my age and being ‘one of’ (he loves to kid himself) the older audience member in attendance – nor does the fact that years of going to concerts has left my hearing unequal/unbalanced betwixt my two ears (right works better in case you want to talk about me) but I used to attend between 50-100 concerts per year back in the day in London and then gradually slid down to perhaps 20-30 per year 4 or 5 years ago and last year I can count the bands I saw on one hand. That’s not good enough.

I’ll hold my hand up and say its not because I like less new music – I bought more new CDs in 2010 than in any year of the previous four, there were lots of new things I like – but sadly not much came to Phoenix (where I live just outside) and/or I made silly excuses that sitting at home playing guitar or writing about music would be a good substitute for seeing it performed live. Thus I’m going to resolve to see more bands this year because I should – and I’ll give due plaudits and applause to those that bring a smile or send a shiver and heckle those that remind me of The Stranglers or Coldplay. It’s only fair. My resolution last year was to give more support to my local record shops which I achieved and I’ll write about it in the days ahead so part two seems to get back into concert going mode. It might mean some more late nights and the occasional missed post on the blog but I might find the next Clash…or even the next Alarm….either way I’ll write and let you know who I see and the noise that they make. While being in the right place to see The Clash and bands such as Echo and The Bunnymen, Aztec Camera, The Jam, The Beat, New Order, Elvis Costello, Madness, The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, The Housemartins, Buzzcocks and so many others really did leave a huge impression on me between 1980 and 1990 I realised that this decade doesn’t need to be written off before it gets started. I was thinking today about some of the great concerts I’ve seen since being in Phoenix and being more positive/assertive about the new year. I’m becoming convinced that the next great band are out there somewhere and them being found and heard partly depends on people seeing live music. So do what Mick and Joe spent so much of their earliest days doing and see some more live music in 2011. If you see someone especially good (big, small, famed or unknown) let me know and we’ll give ‘em a plug on the blog. As for me….I’ve got to ensure I see at least two of the following in the next 60 days:

Interpol     No Age     Matt Pond     Social Distortion      Concrete Blonde     Little Dragon

It’s not The Clash with the Undertones I know but there are some good choices there don’t you think? Answers or suggestions on a postcard, in a hat or via our revised contact page please. I’ll be back tomorrow fine people – also if you emailed in the last 3-4 weeks and I’ve yet to reply – sincere apologies…replies and a new (e)mailbag feature soon will be a regular feature on the blog..thanks for your kind words and broad selection of ideas and questions etc….in the meantime check out No Age (and Craig Ferguson) below…

Good morning to you…I’m in an awful mood..woke up at 520am to watch Arsenal somehow contrive to toss away a 2-0 lead at home to……s***s! I’ve simply got to get that thought out of my mind so thought I’d write about something that makes me happier. I’m this close (fingers very close together) to giving up on football for the season and focus on music and 18th century Russian literature so you may see a change of tone to the blog in coming weeks. So a bit of Clash related news instead this morning.

If you are in the UK or indeed get your music streams online you are probably fully aware of Xfm (music that rocks – so they say). As you know I’m always up for a list and the station are going to be playing their ‘top 1,000 songs of all time’ between now and the end of the year. Unlike most of these lists they’ve actually revealed which songs are in the mix before kicking off so naturally enough I had to see what songs by The Clash were in contention, having anticipated a more diverse list I thought there would be 4 or 5 songs on the list and yet remarkably there were 12!! On the one hand I thought that was a brilliant total out of 1,000 until I saw some of the less adventurous selections/bias toward newer bands (Arctic Monkeys I mean you). Overall though The Clash were better represented than all of their peers, some of the more interesting totals follow: Arctic Monkeys – 13, Beatles – 14, Big Audio Dynamite – 1, Blur – 19, Buzzcocks – 2, Doves – 7, Echo & Bunnymen – 4, The Jam – 9, James – 5, Joy Division – 4, Libertines – 7, Manic Street Preachers – 12, New Order – 9, Sex Pistols – 3, The Smiths – 12, The Specials – 2, The Stone Roses – 14, The Stranglers – 5 (hah!), Suede – 6. So, nothing in there by Wire or XTC while shite such as The Zutons have two songs. As with all such lists you’ll obviously find holes and they don’t really mean all that much but I do think the representation by The Clash is healthy especially when you look at their contemporaries and number of included songs. As for the twelve Clash songs on the lists there are a good number of obvious selections and a few that I wouldn’t have included – but each to their own I guess. Here’s the dozen:

The Clash London Calling
The Clash Rock The Casbah
The Clash I Fought The Law
The Clash Should I Stay Or Should I Go
The Clash Train In Vain
The Clash Bankrobber
The Clash Complete Control
The Clash Guns Of Brixton
The Clash Tommy Gun
The Clash White Riot
The Clash  Janie Jones
The Clash White Man In Hammersmith Palais

Apparently there’s a book out with all of the 1,000 songs explored which you can purchase here, or attempt to win here by selecting your top 3 songs of all time. It gets me to wondering whether your favourite 20 songs of all time would include a lot of Clash songs or a handful. Maybe something we can try and tackle in 2011 after we eventually finish The Clash Cup (which we will, with the next edition this weekend I hope). Anyway, a moderate thumbs up to Xfm for including what is a healthy representation for our boys! Here’s the link to the list in full of all 1,000 songs.

Also, tonight, very short notice if you happen to be anywhere near Bologna in Italy there’s a Clash night at 9:00pm for just 10 Euros admission. I realise that maybe one person reading that might be able to make it along, but we get lots of visits from Italy so I wanted to share it. Here’s a link to the event…..Teatro Comunale di Dozza (BO)Via XX Settembre, 51 ,Dozza, Italy.

Right, off to go and smack a Spurzzz fan. – Tim  — Comments on the above post are welcomed – I’m getting an echo in here lately!! Also if you want more bits and pieces please check out my other blog…Thanks~

Hello again good people, I had the best intentions about getting a post out this morning but the day was so nice that sitting in front of a computer seemed a bit harsh, although I did spend 2 hours in the company of Arsenal…that was nice as we edged Man Citeh 3-nil. Good times indeed. So I’ve got a good audio link for you tonight and a video also, so that will keep you occupied and save me from typing too much although the usual tendency of babbling on is hard to break. I’ve nearly finished that Marcus Grey book about London Calling so will have a review of that within the next week or so and I also need to review the NME special, the feature in Uncut and the Big Audio Dynamite reissue. When I first started this up I wondered if there would be enough to cover and really I feel like I’m having to defer and delay a lot of things all the time…I never imagined that!

First things first, a really entertaining interview took place with Paul Simonon and Damon Albarn when Gorillaz were in Minneapolis. I can’t recommend this one highly enough; it runs about 20 minutes and contains a few tracks but better still the time spent by the host Mark Wheat is split just about evenly between Paul and Damon. Paul is in sparkling form, funny, observant and more than that enjoying himself. Mark knows his subject well which adds to the value of the chat. You’ll get to the bottom of the submarine crew apparel for once and for all as these two are the main culprits. Any of that cynicism I remember reading about this ‘partial Clash’ reunion on Damon’s cartoon driven beat (not my words) I think ebbing away from even the most hardened observer now. Jones and Simonon are not only enjoying themselves but feel they are part of a very special band and contributing to it – not just collecting a cheque. I tried for an age to embed the audio file on the blog but something wasn’t meshing correctly and I waited for a reply to a technical inquiry all day but nothing was forthcoming – so instead I’ll need to give you a link to it. Forgive Damon stuffing his face full of something during the interview, horrible lack of manners. The interview link is here and was conducted by Mark Wheat on 89.3FM Minneapolis Public Radio – The Current.

From there I need you to sit back and watch a video, I really hope you haven’t seen this before, I hadn’t but I know some of you have seen everything! When I look back at The Clash, The Jam, The Specials and so many other bands in video and photographs from 1977-1982  there was always more than a bit of style on display. A band’s look was not the be all end all but for me there was something great about record sleeves and concert photos from that era. Sometime in the 1980′s the new romantic scene came into play and haircuts and clothing become more than a bit daft but in many cases the most important thing about a band. That seemed to heighten during the first half of the decade and got worse and worse (or better and better I guess). If you’re my age (born ’67) or older I bet you’ve looked back at photos of you and your friends from the 1980′s and thought aloud ‘what was going on there then?’. It seemed to reach absurd levels round about 1984 and that’s exactly when this video was filmed. When you think of The Clash you generally think about the epitome of cool, from Paul’s art influence to New York Gangster threads or 1940′s era hoodlums The Clash always looked pretty bloody great on stage. Arguably when combat gear took front stage in ’82 and ’83 they became a bit too colourful but the age of MTV and videos had arrived and The Clash were still cutting their own unique path. Now I don’t blame Mick Jones for what followed – the fashion police apparently went on an extended holiday in the mid 80′s and Jones with the newly formed Big Audio Dynamite were fully into baseball caps and New York street wear, whether it was being bought on Harrow Road or shipped from Brooklyn is in doubt but I know there were dodgy fashion crimes happening everywhere in London at that time.

Regardless, the video is interesting and entertaining all at once. It’s apparently filmed in Mick’s basement and features a demo/extended version of Sudden Impact from the debut album. Based on the level of completion it was from the final recording process which would place it in the summer months of 1985. What is obvious is that they are having a laugh, lip syncing and to some degree seeing where the band would go visually. Nor were the guitars plugged in, they were having a laugh for the most part. I saw Big Audio Dynamite at least three times in those first couple of years and they were definitely experimenting constantly, with sounds, lyrics, influences and also aware that housing a ‘former Clash star’ carried a unique level of expectation. As much as the press said that B.A.D. were where The Clash may have headed I think once Mick had the band formed the shackles were off to experiment with everything and anything plus within that mix was Don Letts encouraging a cinematic feel. Whether Big Audio Dynamite were quite as  innovative as I think they were can be debated but you can’t suggest they didn’t make a very important contribution to what followed musically. Actually on repeat viewing the wall behind features photos from the album’s artwork meaning the video was probably shot in October or November 1985.

B.A.D. – Sudden Impact remix

I’ll be back tomorrow with lots to get through…thanks for visiting and be good. Tim